solar cell news

[billswan]

Guys here is some news I stumbled onto.
I am not into solar but maybe someday.

http://www.ise.fraunhofer.de/en/press-and-media/press-releases/presseinformationen-2013/world-record-solar-cell-with-44.7-efficiency

Billswan

[mike90045]

a new record efficiency of 44.7% was measured at a concentration of 297 suns

I wonder how much heat has to be dissipated to keep it at operating temperature?

[Jens]

Never mind the heat it needs to dissipate - I am more concerned about my well being with 297 suns overhead

[David Baillie]

I always wonder if these promos are not the solar industry's equivalent of the concept car; it gets great press but does not go anywhere. Has efficiency of actual panels that are sold increased at all in the last 30 years?  Cost has dropped significantly which is good but the cells are still the same no?
Neat link, thanks
David Baillie

[quinnf]

They're trolling for investment capital, and to demonstrate to their existing shareholders that they're not sitting on their hands.  It's necessary, but gets folks' hopes up prematurely.  There's plenty of money to be made in that industry.  The technology is just not there yet for most people.  But it's getting closer. 

q.

[veggie]

But.... just imagine the "solar revolution" if 45% effic. panels hit the market at a reasonable price/kw.
The future is electric 

Then I turn to look out the window at my 14% effic. panels .... heavy sigh 

veggie

[BruceM]

I'm not complaining about the current PV cost/performance.  It's already so good that trackers are irrelevant. 
We've come a long way.

[David Baillie]

I wonder at what percent efficiency it becomes self defeating.  I can already fit more 14% panels on my roof then I can use. The limit is always the batteries now same reason trackers are becoming obsolete.  At least someone is pushing the envelope I guess...
David Baillie

[BruceM]

I agree, David.  It's the battery storage technology that's the weak link.

Some technology for storing hydrogen at lower pressures and metal alloys that don't get brittle from hydrogen (for plumbing and vessels) would also be nice, while we're dreaming. 

[thomasonw]

I always wonder if these promos are not the solar industry's equivalent of the concept car; it gets great press but does not go anywhere. Has efficiency of actual panels that are sold increased at all in the last 30 years?  Cost has dropped significantly which is good but the cells are still the same no?
Neat link, thanks
David Baillie

Actually, yes they have.  Not is massive steps, but perhaps a % every year or two (at least for the past 5 years or so..).  You can look at the 'common sized' solar panels installed on houses, when we purchased ours a year and a half ago, 240W was the sweet spot, now it is 260W, and 3-4 years ago it was 220W.   

Not massive improvements, just incremental.   Iit will take something revolutionary to make a massive step.  But then, LEDs high enough in power (and efficiency) to use for anything other then signal lamps did not exist 10 years ago, and now look...   Just takes time.  One day one of these 'breakthroughs' will prove out to be cost effective enough for us to see production panels in the 20% efficiency range, who knows, with refinements maybe into the 30%!

[David Baillie]

thomas I'm sounding like a stick in the mud but the efficiency of the commercially available cells is not much different then 20 years ago. As far as 220-260 that's just a packaging choice.  both efficiency levels were available 2 years ago. I recently purchased a used kyocera 50 watt panel for a small project and it is stamped 1994.  Its performance specs match a new one exactly. My only point was that so many of these news releases are just hype.  I too am looking forward to the next step but the current one is pretty damn good anyways...
David

[thomasonw]

thomas I'm sounding like a stick in the mud but the efficiency of the commercially available cells is not much different then 20 years ago. As far as 220-260 that's just a packaging choice. ...
David

Sorry, not true.  I have followed very closely Solar Cells, and what was true 5 years ago has little to do with what is true today.  Packing Choices (aka binning) has nothing to do with the migration of the sweet spot and the incremental improvement in efficiency.  The whole 'available range' slowly migrates up each year..  easy to see if you have been tracking them.

Incremental changes HAVE occurred over the past few years, and massive cost reductions HAVE occurred over the past 5 years (well under $1/watt these days from 2-3$ just 5 years ago..).  Easy to see if one looks to purchase cells....

Now, this is not MASSIVE changes ala the OPs link, but your claim that solar cells have not seen any improvement in efficiency over the past 20 years  is just not true.   One thing you need to remember is:  $$$ go where volume is.  Todays 'house size' panels are where the improvements are.  When we purchased our 240W panels we could also have gotten 135W panels for the exact same price per panel - 135w Kyocera panels are just out of the volume panels....  And your experience with 50w panels is so out of the mainstream is it irrelevant.

And I do believe at some time a massive improvement will happen (as you too seem to be looking for)  just a matter of time before one of these hype technologies demos proves viable  (and THAT is the real question - the time!).  But that does not invalidate the incremental changes that have been occurring for the past few years...


-al-

[David Baillie]

Fair enough I stand corrected...